The first hydroelectric generating station in
Manitoba. Its powerhouse contained two vertical water wheels connected
by
bevel gears to a line shaft driving two 1,100-V alternators. Six
transformers increased the power to 11,800 V for transmission to the
substation at 10th Street and Lorne Avenue in Brandon - now the site of
Manitoba Hydro's customer service office in western Manitoba.
The
spillway was built with a 6.7-m head, or waterfall, and was 18.3 m
wide. After the flood discharge in the spring,
timber stop logs were
placed in the spillway, raising the water an additional 3 m to the top
of the dam and providing a
working head of 9 m. The 79-m-long timber
dam was built with 13 rows of tamarack piling
(between 4.8 m to 15 m in
length) driven close together into the river's clay bottom.
The dam's
upper side was faced with tongue-and-groove lumber.